WHEN Facebook announced two weeks ago that it is going hard on Fake News pages, with measures such as blocking these pages and partnering with Rappler and Vera Files to fact-check these pages, there seem to be a collective sigh of relief from netizens.
As fellow columnist Arnold Alamon describes it, this is a "comeuppance" or what is deserved of the propaganda machinery of the administration that constantly and consistently come up with spins and slants on issues, with scorn and slight on critics and opposition, all in the name of defending the administration.
This has contributed little or nothing to elevate public discourse and awareness on issues. Instead, it has a simple way of defining the issues such as Marawi, Martial Law, Lumad bakwets, the war on drugs, TRAIN law, jeepney phase out, and so on: trust the wisdom of Duterte, or if you don't, you're a "dilawan" or "komunesta" or simply, "bobo". This "discourse" has been quite exhausting and exasperating.
Now that Facebook has cut off some of the Fake News and some of the tentacles of the pro-admin pages, the question still is: are we getting the real news? And are we ready for it?
It's funny, but even without the pro-admin pages flooding my Facebook, I still find more of the scorn and slant coming from somewhere else.
I still hear on radio how commentators and listeners bash activists as bayaran and communist fronts. Never mind how legitimate the issues these "communists" raised that affects the public such as the rising prices of TRAIN, the bakwets and victims of Martial Law.
Mocha Uson Blog is still much around on Facebook, and so other "social media influencers" or simply put, "PR experts", bashing critics and opposition, throwing opinions without having facts backing it up.
And there's a city information page where the mayor posts opinion about "public interest" and "peace" by arresting striking workers and bashing activists as "communist" mouthpieces.
With the way journalism and social media news go, we just skim the surface. How many of us understand issues such as contractualization? Do we get information about peace and order just from one side and that is the government?
How about issues in Davao such as striking workers, demolition threats, flood control and the growing traffic, are conventional news outlets or social media contributing to understand this?
We may have cut off disinformation from Fake News, but there is still the challenge of raising discourse and critical thinking. There's a practice in journalism called community journalism where reporters seek answer and discussion on issues. It's also the same as the alternative stream of indie media and bloggers online that draw netizen support.
But such stream is still going up against the tidal of information control. There is still such control of information in different platforms. A control that serves the status quo. What this status quo serves, I leave that to you readers to analyze.
Although we cheer about the DDS falling into oblivion, there is actually little to cheer about. The truth is still out there needing to be unearthed.
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tyvelez@gmail.com